PAVE THE WAY
Millions approved to upgrade paths in townships
Four pedestrian-bike paths are being refurbished or created mostly in the eastern part of Macomb County at a total cost of about $8 million to continue to improve walkability and connectivity.
The trails targeted for improvement include the Bonior Trail and Clinton River Spillway Trail in Clinton Township and Jefferson Avenue trails in Harrison and Chesterfield townships following the recent approval of the county’s cost share, which comes from federal funds that are required to be spent on non-motorized paths.
The projects, for the most part, could be started later this year following completion of engineering and design work, and could go into next year.
Mary Bednar, the Clinton Township public services director, said officials are excited to be able to provide a facelift to the Bonior Trail and Spillway Trail at a total cost of over $3.3 million.
“We are very lucky to have their paths, and to get this funding is a godsend,” Bednar said. “Both of them are part of the regional path. People in Clinton Township use them but quite a few people from all over use them, too.”
“Those are some of the first bike paths established in the county,” said county Board Chair Don Brown.
The Bonior Trail goes along Metropolitan Parkway in Clinton Township, Harrison Township and Sterling Heights. It was renamed from the Freedom Trail due to former U.S. congressman David Bonior’s efforts to secure funding for them in the 1990s.
The Bonior Trail work, which includes repaving and new decking on the pedestrian bridge over Groesbeck Highway, is expected to take place in late summer and early fall, barring any issues that cause a delay, according to Scott Chabot, an engineer at Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick firm in Shelby Township, who is working with the township on the project.
The slightly over $2.5 million cost of the Bonior Trail project will be funded with $1.7 million in federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) , $588,000 in township funds and nearly $200,000 in county Roads Department monies.
The cost of the shorter Spillway Path will be about $888,000, with a TAP grant paying $583,000, the township contributing $213,000 and the county paying $84,000. It goes from Shadyside Park Bridge to the east border of Clinton Township and to Metropolitan Parkway, where it connects to the Bonior Trail.
In Harrison Township, the existing path and sidewalks along the northwest side of Jefferson Avenue will be repaved and a pedestrian bridge built over the Spillway, at a cost of over $3.5 million, thanks to a $1 million award from the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan Ralph E. Wilson Legacy Fund, $1.6 million in TAP funds, $650,000 from the township and $300,000 from county roads, according to township Supervisor Ken Verkest. The township is planning to draw $150,000 from the Downtown Development Authority funds to pay its share.
“This path goes all the way from near Eddie’s Drive In to Lori’s Lick ‘Em Up (ice cream shop),” on Jefferson, near Shook Road, said Township Supervisor Ken Verkest.